Wire bundle splitter



1953 G. w. WEBER WIRE BUNDLE SPLITTER 4 an Z Filed Nov. 2, 1950 llllllllLllll II l; P0 4 1. A UHJ. E

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Patented Oct. 13, 1953 WIRE BUNDLE SPLITTER Gilbert Walter Weber,Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to United States Steel Corporation, acorporation of New Jersey Application November 2, 1950, Serial No.193,663

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for dividing bundles ofwire into multiple units and has for its primary object the provision ofa device whereby a bundle of wire may be accurately and easily dividedinto a predetermined number of multiple units without the necessity ofweighing each of the multiple units to be cut from the bundle.

In cold wire drawing, it has been found to be more economical to drawthe largest size bundles of finished wire possible. If a 800 poundbundle of wire is required and the wire drawing machine is capable ofdrawing 600 pound bundles, it is more economical to draw the 600 poundbundle and then split the same rather than stop the wire drawing machineeach time a 300 pound bundle of wire is produced and remove ittherefrom.

Although it is not new to split drawn bundles of wire, prior to myinvention the problem has existed of splitting a bundle of wire with afair degree of accuracy and at the same time accomplish such a splittingoperation in the shortest possible time without undue physical effort onthe part of the operator. It is this problem which my invention solves,as will be clearly understood by reference to the drawings, which willnow be described, and the appended claims, which point out the novelfeatures of my invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view;

Figure 2 is a side elevation; and

Figure 3 is a view taken on the line Il'l-l1I of Figure 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2indicates a horizontal supporting platform having three angularlydisposed slots 4 therein and three spaced holes Ii therethrough. Atubular section 8 is welded or otherwise attached to the bottom ofplatform 2 in communication with each of the spaced holes 6. A nut I3 iswelded on the bottom of each of the tubular sections 8 for receiving anadjusting screw I2. If desired, the lower ends of the tubular sectionsmay be internally threaded to receive the adjusting screw I2 in place ofproviding nuts I3 for that purpose. An upright rod I4, having one endinserted into one of the tubular sections 8 with its bottom resting onthe adjusting screw I2, extends upwardly from the surface of thehorizontal platform 2.

A pair of L-shaped members It is welded or otherwise fastened to the rodI4 at a point I8 approximately midway between its ends. Legs fixed tothe side of a wire drawing bench 24 adjacent the drawing block by meansof angle brackets 26, cleats 28 and angle bar 36 or by any othersuitable means so as to be conveniently located for receiving a bundleof drawn wire to be split.

In setting forth the operation of the invention, the procedure used insplitting a 400 pound bundle into two 200 pound bundles will bedescribed. In operation, the full-size 400 pound bundle W, with its corefacing up, is laid on a fiat surface and allowed to settle. After thebundle has settled, the depth of the core is measured by inserting aruler or tape therein. This measurement constitutes the actual verticaldistance from the top of the bundle to the bottom portion supported bythe flat surface. This distance is divided by two to obtain the depth ofthe core of the desired 200 pound bundle.

The full-size bundle W is then lowered in a horizontal position onto theplatform 2 so that the rod I4 and L-shaped members It are positionedwithin the core of the bundle. With the bundle W now resting on platform2, the operator joggles or shakes the bundle so as to make sure that theconvolutions of wire making up the bundle are sufiiciently loose withinthe bundle as to allow the bundle to collapse and at-. tain a naturalgiven height when at rest and not restrained by tie wires. The adjustingscrews I2 are then adjusted so that the legs Zll of the members I6 areat a height above platform 2 equal to one-half of the depth of the coreof the full-size bundle W which value has been determined as describedabove. In order to facilitate the splitting operation, it is desirableto incline platform 2 at approximately inch per foot from front to back,thus the top half of the full bundle will tend to slide forward over thehorizontal legs 20 toward the rod I4 as soon as it has settled intoposition on the platform 2.

With the bundle disposed on platform 2, as described above, the operatorsimply pulls that portion A of the bundle which projects above the legs2!] forward over the upper surfaces of the legs 20 until the rearportion of the inner periphery of the portion A contacts the rod I4 asshown in Figure 2. The portion A which is hanging on the rod 14 now hasthe tie wires applied thereto and is out free from the remaining portion13 of the bundle resting on the platform 2. The operator then removesthe bundle portion A from the rod I 4 and applie tie wires to bundleportion B through the slots 4.

While :one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, itwill be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be madewithout departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for dividing bundles of wireicomprising a platform adapted*to receive abundle of wire, said platform having three spaced apartholes therethrough, a tubular member fastened beneath said plate at eachof said'holes, an adjusting screw threaded into each of said'ttibularmembers, a vertical rod ;in one of said tubular .membersextendingupwardly fromsaid platform, a pair of L-shaped members attached to saidrod at a point between said platform and the top .of said rod, saidL-shaped members extending normal to said rod and diverging from eachother, one leg of each L-shaped member extend ing downwardly throughsaid platform with its axis parallel to theaxis of said rod, saiddownwardly extending leg extending into one of the tubular members withits bottom end bearing .on the adjusting screw.

2. Apparatus for dividing a bundle of wire comprising a horizontalplatform adapted to receive a bundle of wire, an off-center positionedrod extending vertically upward from said platform, and at least oneL-shaped member attached to said rod at a point intermediate the endsthereof, one leg of each L-shaped member extending in a horizontal planenormal to said rod on one side thereof and the other leg extendingdownwardly to said platform, the distance from 'sa'idmodto thedownwardly extending leg of each L-shaped member being less than theinside diameter of said wire bundle.

3. Apparatus for dividing a bundle of wire as .definedinclaim 2including means for adjusting the height of said horizontal legs abovesaid platiorm.

:4. Apparatusifordividing bundles of wire comprising -a platform adaptedto receive a bundle of WilZQ, salad extending vertically upward fromsaid platform, a pair of L-shaped members attached to said rod at apoint between said platform and the top of said rod, said L-shapedmembers extending normal -.to said rod and :diverging ircmeach other,and one leg of each .L- shaped member extending downwardly to saidplatform.

GILBERT WALTER WEBER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PA'IENTSNumber Name Date 359,336 Walker Mar. 1'5, 188'! 657,136 Schultz Sept. 4,1900 1,624,633 Spoerri Apr. 12, 1927 2,454,148 Fought Nov. 16, 1948

